I have a stack of common pine. It’s a very soft wood and mostly warped. I would like to use it for projects that need a harder wood. I was wondering if anyone has tried to compress pine using steam, or putting it in a hot solution of wood hardener, and compressing it in a hydraulic press until dry. if this is possible, it would make another use for these fast growing trees.

I was not thinking of chip board. Pine is probably the most renewable lumber resource we have. If pine could be compressed (standard lumber not a glued up composite) then there may be a good market for it having many applications. It not so much that I wanted hardwood. I like working with pine. It’s a beautiful wood, but it does dent easily. I was looking for a way to process it to minimize its limitations. probably not traditional woodworking thinking.

In theory it should work to make it denser. The lignins in wood get plastic when heated. I can’t imagine what kind of press would you need to heat compress a whole board. Seems impractical for the average home shop wood worker.